Terms of Competition – Women’s Grade

The Terms of Competition – Women’s Grade are to be read in conjunction with the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant

1. Definitions
2. General
3. Entry into the Pennant
4. Player Eligibility
5. Format of Play
6. Dates and Times of Play
7. Winner of the Division
8. Promotion & Relegation
9. Transportation
10. Miscellaneous
11. Host Club Responsibilities

1. Definitions

• Club – a club competing in the Women’s Grade.
• Contest – the competition between two Clubs.
• Finals Contest – a match between two clubs in the Finals Series of a Pennant
• Final Draw – the draw first published on the Golf NSW Website as notified to participating Clubs. If an amendment is necessary to the Final Draw, any amendment(s) will be noted on the Final Draw with the date of the change.
• Golf NSW – Golf NSW Limited as the governing body for amateur golf in NSW and the ACT.
• Golf NSW Golf Committee – the Golf Committee of Golf NSW established by the Board of Golf NSW.
• Host Club – the Club nominated in the Final Draw to host the Contest, whether at that Club or another venue.
• Individual Match – the individual competition between two players.
• Match Committee of the Host Club – the Match Committee of the Host Club in charge of a Contest during a preliminary round of the Pennant competition.
• Professional Golfer – one who is not an amateur golfer. Professional Golfers include members of a professional golfer’s association and players who have made application to regain amateur status.
• Rules of Golf and Rules and Rule – the Rules of Golf and Rules of Amateur Status and related Interpretations published and approved by the R&A Rules Limited current at the time of the Pennant competition including any Local Rules published by the Host Club.
• Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant – the primary terms of competition for all Pennant Play under the control of Golf NSW, available from www.golfnsw.org.au.
• Team Manager – the person appointed or nominated under Term 9 of the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant
• Women’s Grade or Pennant – the Women’s Grade.
• Terms of Competition or Term – This document and the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant and the terms contained within. 

2. General

2.1. The Women’s Grade competition is a club scratch match play competition played annually between Metropolitan Clubs who are members of Golf NSW. The Pennant is usually played in the months of February to April. 

2.2. The Clubs participating in the Pennant are divided into Divisions, with the final number depending on the final nominations. 

2.3. The Women’s Grade competition consists of a number of preliminary rounds (Contests) between Metropolitan Clubs in each Division. 

2.4. The winner of each Divisional Pennant is presented with the Divisional Pennant Flag.

3.Entry

3.1. The Pennant is open to all Sydney Metropolitan Golf Clubs who are members of Golf NSW, where positions in the Final Draw are available. 

3.2. The Golf NSW Golf Committee retains the right to exercise discretion in the areas of promotion, relegation, entry into the Grade Competition and allocation of new entries to a Grade and the number of players in a team. 

4. Player Eligibility

4.1 A player is eligible for the Women’s Grade if she:

a. Is a female amateur golfer; and
b. Is current financial member of the Club she represents for a minimum period of 3 months prior to the date of the first round of the Pennant; and
c. Complies with the Golf NSW Gender Policy as outlined in the General Conditions for Golf NSW State Events and
d. Is a financial member of the club they are representing in a category of membership that allows them to maintain a Golf Australia handicap for the club

4.2 A player may not play in Women’s Grade or Women’s Major Pennant for more than one Club in any one season, unless they are an eligible member of two clubs in which case they may play in each of the different Pennant competitions but only for one club per competition. Under these circumstances Term 4.3 of these Terms of Competition does not apply.

4.3 A player is unable to play in the Women’s Major Pennant once they have played twice in Women’s Grade and similarly is unable to play in Women’s Grade once they have participated twice in Women’s Major Pennant.

Exception: A player or players may ‘fill in’ such that they do not strengthen the team, i.e. their exact handicap is higher than all other players in the team and they play at No. 5. Should two players be substituted then they must both have exact handicaps higher than the remainder of the team and play at No. 4 & 5. A maximum of two players in any one Contest are allowed who have previously played twice in the alternative event.

Penalty – ineligible player 
The penalty for an ineligible player competing in a Contest is forfeit of the specific Individual Match to the opposing Club. If it is considered that a player is in breach it is up to the affected Club to lodge a protest to Golf NSW (graeme.phillipson@golfnsw.org.au) as outlined in Term 30 of the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant.

5. Format of Play

5.1. The Women’s Grade consists of five (5) Individual Matches. 

5.2. Individual Matches must be played as one match per time slot unless permission has been granted by the Golf NSW Golf Committee to vary this. 

5.3. All Individual Matches will be played over 18 holes of match play without the benefit of handicap. 

6. Dates & Times of Play

6.1. The Starting Times for each Contest shall be between 7.30am to 9.30am on Fridays. 

6.2. Refer to Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant for additional information.

7. Winner of the Division

7.1. The Club in each Division of Grade that secures the greatest number of Contest Points is the winner of that Pennant. It two or more Clubs are tied on Contest Points then the Countback Procedures outlined in Term 17 of Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant will apply.

8. Promotion & Relegation

8.1. Promotion: The winning Team in Grades 2, 3, and 4 shall be promoted to the higher Grade for the following year’s competition. 

8.2. Relegation: In Grades 1, 2, and 3 the Team with the lowest number of Contest points shall be relegated to the next lower Grade for the following year’s competition. 

8.3. Ties for relegation: Ties in Contest points for relegation will be determined according to the process outlined in in Term 17 of the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant

8.4. The Golf NSW Golf Committee reserve the right to promote or relegate fewer or more teams than prescribed above depending upon circumstances.

9. Transportation

9.1. Refer to the Golf NSW Hard Card

10. Miscellaneous

10.1. Undefeated Player Award. To be eligible to receive an undefeated player award a player must have competed in ALL preliminary rounds and have won or squared all of the respective Individual Matches.

11. Host Club Responsibilities

11.1. Refer to the Golf NSW Terms of Competition – Pennant for additional information. 

11.2. When hosting, the preferred time is Friday morning. 

1. 11.3. Buffer Zones
   a. The host club must ensure that a minimum buffer zone of 30 minutes exists before the first group of Pennant Play is scheduled to commence. 
2. 11.4. Course presentation
   a. The course set-up should be no harder than that used for club medal day competition.